The 7th Grade Poets' Roundtable
What You’ll Do
- Research a Poet – Choose one American poet (living or dead) from the list provided. If there’s another poet you’d love to study, just ask your teacher first.
- Prepare a Biography – Gather key facts about your poet’s life:
- When and where they lived
Important moments or accomplishments
- What inspired their writing
- Explore Their Poetry – Learn about your poet’s style and themes.
What style of poetry do they write?
- What do they often write about?
- What makes their voice unique?
- Annotate their poetry & write your own!
- You must submit TWO poems annotated by you.
- In addition, you must write your own poem, 20 lines or longer, in the style of your chosen poet.
- EXTRA CREDIT: Memorize & perform a poem by your chosen poet.
- Join the Roundtable – On presentation day, you will pretend to be your poet in a roundtable discussion. You’ll share your biography, style, and poem selections, and then respond to questions from classmates, teachers, and special guests from outside our class. You must be an absolute expert on your poet and prepared to answer any and all questions.
